Locker structure



Oct. 21, 1941,. J. E. BALs LocxER sVTRcTURE Filed Jan. l1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 21,1941. J.. E. BALEs LOCKER STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 1l, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented ci. 2l, 1941 UNHTED srarEs PATENT AOFFICE 2,259,722 LockER STRUCTURE James E. Bales, Aurora, Ill., assignor to Lyon Metal Products, Incorporated, Aurora, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Appxicauon January 11, 193s, serial No. 184,427

Claims.

The present invention relates to a locker and more particularly to a locker arrangement or assembly wherein a plurality of individual lockers are controlled from a master station.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a locker assembly having swinging doors and particularly a plurality of opposite swinging doors all controlled from a predetermined station and which are composed of a plurality of locker units so that any number of these units may be added or taken away from the assembly to provide a structure having any preferred number of lockers.

Locker assemblies in which a plurality of lockers are controlled from a predetermined one of the doors or from some other preselected lstation are normally characterized by the presence of a relatively complex control and locking mechanism which not only substantially increases the cost and difficulty of production but necessitates the design and manufacture of each assembly as an individual problem depending upon the desired size and arrangement demanded. In the present art there is a desire for lockers comprising more or less standard units but arranged together to provide the proper assembly for accommodation in a particular space which may be allotted in a locker room, school room or the like.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved locker assembly comprising a plurality of lockers all controlled by a. single master door and positively actua-ble therefrom to which additional locker units may be readily added or subtracted without great difficulty and which may be readily made up from the aforementioned more or less prefabricated units to any predetermined size.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved locker assembly as above wherein the actuation of the doors is controlled by a single control bar which has associated therewith improved and simplified means for opening and closing one of the paired doors ahead of the other door of the pair for projecting a resilient stop member behind the last mentioned door, the control bar being operative to positively bring the last named door to closed position while maintaining the first door resiliently in said position.

Another object'of the present invention is to provide a locker wherein the doors are supported for swinging movement upon a spring member larly in the direction of the axis of the swinging movement.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a locker door structure comprising pintles which are mounted in operative relationship to the door but which may be adjustably tilted with respect to the door and which may be locked releasably in any of said positions for controllably adjusting the position of the pintles and thus properly positioning the door with respect to the door frame.

It is furthermore an object of thepresent invention to provide a locker assembly made up of a plurality of prefabricated locker units adapted to form a permanent part of a wall or building and which is so constructed and arranged as to give the appearance of a single unitary assembly.

Numerous other objects and advantages will more fully appear during the course and progwhich may be tensioned adjustably and particuress of the following specification.

Figure l is a perspective View of a locker contructed in accordance with the present invenion.

Figure 2 is a view the same as Figure 1, but showing the doors in open position.

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 3 3 in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan section taken on the line vd ll in Figure 2, being thus substantially the same View as Figure 3 but with the doors in open position. Y

Figure 5 is a detail sectional elevation taken on the line 5 5 in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 6 6 in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail plan sectional view taken on the line 1 1 in Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional elevation showing the pivot support and the adjusting means there- Figure 9 is a sectional elevation of the door showing a side View of the pivot support member.

Figure 10 is a detail sectional elevation through an alternative embodiment.

The locker assembly shown herein for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, comprises a pair of opposed side walls I0 and l2, a rear wall I4 and a top wall I6. Attention is directed to the fact that the top wall I6 and the rear wall I4 are divided into three sections, each corresponding to a pair of doors I8 and 20 pivotally mounted at opposite sides so as to open outwardly as clearly shown in Figure 2. Each of the sections also is provided with a correspondwall is bent downwardly adjacent its forward portion to provide the downwardly extending wall 24 which, at its lower end, is bent outwardly as at 26 and provides the sill for the doors. This member is finally bent downwardly at 28 and inwardly again as at 3 in order to provide a finish molding for the front portion of the sill. Each of the sections is supported by four legs 32, such as shown in Figure 5, preferably formed of angle iron or the like having transversely extending foot portions 34 and fastened by welding or any other equivalent means to the molding. portion 23 as well as to the downwardly extending flange 36 formed along the side of the 'bottom wall.

The side walls I and I2` are likewise secured by welding, rivets or any otherI suitablfastening means, to the ange 36 and havebottom portions co-extensive with the front and rear s'idelegs 32,

as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2. The forward,

edges of the side walls I0 and I2 are formed with outwardly and` then reversely extending flanges 33 for providing a finished molding-like appearance 'to the structure. Thevpresent device is designed foruse in permanent installations and particularly those wherein it is to b e built in a recess within a permanent wallor partition. When soarranged the flanges -38- will` enclose a portion ofthe edge of theadjacent structure and confer a pleasing marginal appearance.

The top wall I6 ofthe endsections is secured to a rearwardlyv extendingv angleI member 40 which in turn is secured to the side walls I0 and I2 shownin Figure 5. The forwardv portion of the top wall I6 is bent to form the downwardly projecting wall section 42-. andthe inwardly extending flange 44 directly above rand co-extensive with the sill 25.

Similar angle members 40v are secured adjacent the side edge ofthe top wall I 6 of each ofthe sections for supporting the adjacent interior side walls and dividing partitions. These interior side walls 46 may be attached to both sections. They present invention, however, comprehends the provision of. sections or locking unitswhich may be either partially or wholly prefabricated, which units or sections may then be maden up according to the demands of the partic'ularfassembly which is desired. Thus, for example, the locker unit or section which is situatedl inV the righthand end of the locker assembly, as viewed Vin Figure 1, comprises the end wall I0 together withY top, bottom and back walls ItZ A22 and I4, respectively.

The adjacent interior side wall I2; may be.

assembled with this unitrby welding, rivetingV or otherwise fastening to the adjacent iiangesY 4I!V and 3B on the topand bottom, respectively of the unit and to the inwardly extending flange 413- on the rear wall. The central section or unitvsection or unit ofthe type shown inthe figures.V

It is'then only necessary to'bolt .the unitsk together through'the adjacent flange portions to Produce. a liefste?? Pgiiarvappatieg assembly.

When an order is4 received as shown in the figures. In the structure shown, each section or unit is further subdivided by the vertical partition 50. All of the partitions 46 and 50 are provided with a rounded bead 52 along the forward edge.

After the units have been assembled, the sheet member 54 is situated in the space just below the molding flange 28 and the floor, as shown more clearly in Figures 1, 2 and 5. This member 54 is preferably formed of a piece of metal screening or other reticulated sheet material so that the under portions of the assembly will be in communication with the surrounding air for filtration purposes. The screening is formed with an inwardly extended beaded portion 55 at its bottom edge and is maintained in the position lshown with its upper edge resting adjacent the flange 3,0 through the agency cf fasteners 58 engaging in the respective front legs 32.

The doors I8 and 20 are formed of sheet material anged at the top and bottom, as indicated by the reference numerals 60- and 62, respectively, and provided-with-a reversely extending box-like configuration 64 along vertical pivoted or hinged edges (see Figure 6). The meeting edges of the doors are providedA with reversely s tion or unit, as shown in Figure 5. notedthat the pintle blocks 'Hlare, throughout extending flanges G Sand :68,1 as indicatedin Figure 7 The longitudinally extending box-like configuration 64 on the hingedl or pivoted edges encloses upper and lower pintle blocks havingcylindrical integrally formed pintles I2 extending from the ends thereof and engaged rotatably in suitable, alined apertures inthe upper flange 44 and the lower sill 2Iof the locker secb locks and, accordingly, the pintles, are in thismanner mountedfor limited pivotal movement aboutthe pivot- 16; Machine screws 'lhpass freely through opposite sides of the box-like marginal enclosure (i4-and are threaded into the x pintle blocks adjacent their lower portions. A-

cordingly, the pintles may at any time be ad are positionedin the desired relationship with n respectvtothe dooror the door frame. This featureprovides a simple but very effective means for adjusting the doors so that they, atfall'times,y

register perfectly wit-hthe doorwayor door frame so that-the two doors are alined in closed position.

The weight of each of the doors is. supported directly-'upon the abutment members 80 which may be-astrap of metal congurated as shownin- Figureandvpreferably of someresiliency, Each into t ,the strap member.

82j increases the axial stress 5 applied; against lthe,

'end of the lower pintle 12,. this .means mayg-be employedy to tension the movementt of the doors ans/wellI as toaccurately, control, thel'l.` vertical positioningA withl respectrto the Sill.

Coincidental controlotallof thel doors is ef- It isv-to beY footed by means 'of the control bar 84 which extends longitudinally of the whole assembly through suitable apertures 86 provided in the various flanges36 and side wall member I0. The control bar may be inserted after the sections or units have been assembled as hereinbefore described, in Whichcase it will be necessary to provide a specialcontrol bar for each particular lengthof assembly. The present invention addi tionally comprehends the provision of control bars comprising a plurality of `sections Vwhich may be readily interlocked or fastened together in accordance with the final length desired.

Each of the righthanddoors 20,y as viewed in the figures, has rigidly secured at its lower iiange a curved arm 88. Links 90 are pivotally attached at 92 to the lower marginal ange 62 of the oppositely opening doors I8 Aof, each pair. Both the links 90. and the arms 88 extend through suitable slots in the verticalV wall 24 and are secured to the control bar 8d. Pivotal connection between the arm 88 and the control bar 84 is effected by pivots 94. As shown more clearly in Figure 6, the links 90 are slotted as at 96 to engage the pivot pin 98 which is rigidly bolted to the control bar B. A spring fastened to the links 90 as at |02and to the pivot pin 98 at |04 is arranged to bias the pin 98 in such a position in the slot 96 that the lefthand doors I8 of each pair will tend to close ahead of the other doors. When the locker constructed in accordance with this embodiment is so actuated as to close all of the doors, the lefthand doors will reach closed position first. While the control bar 84 is being further actuated to the right to complete the closing of the doors 20, the pin 98 will slide to the right in the slot 96 against the tension of the spring |80. The reverse action will occur when the doors are actuated to open position.

One of the prime purposes of the present door control arrangement is to permit the provision of the resilient door stop |08 shown more in detail in Figure '7 and having a preferably cylindrical configuration and mounted upon the L- shaped supporting lock |08 which in turn may be welded or otherwise fastened rigidly to the edge 66 of the doors I8. As shown in the iigures, the resilient stop member is not only positioned inwardly of both of the doors when the locker is closed but extends beyond the periphery of the doors I8 so that the member |06 resides directly behind the door 20 and between it and the vertical wall section 24. This provides a buler or resilient door stop for both of the doors of the pair In other words, the member |06, not only stops the doors I8 in closed position but, in closing, is projected behind the other door of the pair.

The actuation of the door control mechanism in accordance with the present invention is preferably accomplished from a handle member II on one of the doors and, in the assembly disclosed in the gures, the handle member ||0 is mounted upon the door 20 and is associated with any suitable locking mechanism not shown in detail. In order to lock the door 20 and, ac-

cordingly, the remainder of the doors of the enl portions of the doorway 'in which they maybe selectively engaged.y

In the alternative preferred embodiment disclosed in Figure 10, the' control bar and its associated door operatingV mechanism is located adjacent the top of the locker instead of beneath the bottom wall thereof, as illustrated in accordance with the previous embodiment. Accordinglythe top wall of the locker I6 is formed as shown in Figure 10, with an upwardly extending wall ||6 which, at its upper edge, is bent outwardly as at I|8 and terminates in the reversely extending flange |20. The configuration of these Walls and flanges provides an enclosure for the control bar mechanism, as clearly shown in the figure, and the links and levers and 88 extend through suitable slots inthe wall IIB and connect with the upper ange members as at 92 for actuating and controlling the doors in substantially the same manner as hereinbefore described. A molding plate |22 is secured to the flange |20 by means of machine screws so as to be removable for adjusting or assembling the control bar structure. This molding plate |22 is shaped similarly to and has somewhat the function of the anges 38 shown in the previous embodiment in that it may engage about the edge of the adjacent wall` to lend the structure a built-in appearance.

The present invention provides an improved and simplied locker structure for coincidentally controlling the doors to a plurality of lockers which may be applied to units or assemblies of any desired size. While the illustrative embodiment described above comprises an assembly of three sections, nevertheless any additional number may be added thereto in the manner described above. The assembly of the various units involves substantially no difficulties and the various movable parts thereof may be readily alined and maintained in proper relative position at all times. While the actuation of the doors in the present embodiment is controlled bythe actuation of one of the doors 20, nevertheless control may be had from any of the doors or from some further or remote station if desired. Moreover, the control bar and associated mechanism in the embodiment shown is enclosed in a space underneath the bottom wall 26 of the locker and thus separated from the contents of the locker. This arrangement obviates the danger of damage to or impingement upon any of the contents of the locker by the moving parts.

It is thought that the invention and numerous of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment ,for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A locker assembly comprising a plurality of locker units, each of said locker units having a pair of doors opening in opposite directions, a longitudinally movable control bar, one of the doors of each pair being connected to said control bar for actuation to open and closed position, and means connecting said other doors to the control bar, said last namedmeans comprising a spring biased to bring said second named doors initially to closed position and to resiliently maintainv them in said position while the 'rst' named doors are being fully closed.

2. Alockerassembly comprising a'plurality of locker units, each of'said .locker units having a pair ofV doors openingV in opposite directions, a longitudinally movable control bar, one of the doors of each pair being connected to said control bar for actuation to open and closedposition, and means connecting said other doors to the control bar,y said last named means comprising a link, a pin and slot connection and a spring biased to bring said second named doors initially to closed position .and to resiliently maintain them in said position while the rst named doors arebeing fully closed.

3. A locker'assembly comprising a plurality of lockers, each of said lockers comprising a preformed unit, said units being secured together and having a pair of doors opening in opposite directions, a llongitudinally movable control bar extending through all of said units, one of the doors of each pair having an arm mounted thereon and pivoted to the control bar for actuation to open and closed position, and means connecting said other doors to the control bar, said last nalned means comprising a spring biased to bring said second .named doors initially to closed position and to resiliently maintain them in said position while/the first named doors are being fully closed. v

4. A locker `having a bottom wall of sheet material, a downwardly extending vilange formed adjacent the front margin of said wall and supporting a forwardly extending sill flange at a downwardly spaced position, a door hingedly mounted with respect to said sill, a control bar mounted in the interior space defined by said bottom wall and said downwardly extending iiange, and means operatively connecting said bar and said door including a vcontrol arm extending through said ange to control the posi'- tion of the door.

5. A locker having a bottom WallL of sheet material, Ya downwardly extending flange formed adjacent the front margin of said wall and supporting a, forwardly extending sill flange at a downwardly spaced position, a pair of oppositely swingable doors mounted on said sill and closing against said downwardly extending flange, a control bar mounted in the interior space defined by said bottom wall and said downwardlyv extending flange, and means operatively connecting each of said doors to saidbar including control arms extending through said flange to control the positioniof the doors.

6. A locker havingabottom wall of sheet material, .a downwardly extending flange formed adjacent the front margin of said wall and supporting a forwardly extending sill flange at a downwardly spaced position, a pair of oppositely swingable doors mounted on said sill and closing against said downwardly extending flange, a control bar mounted in the linterior space dened by said bottom wall and said downwardly' extending flange, means operatively connecting each'of said doorsto saidbar including control armsrextendingV through Asaid flange to control the positionl .of the doors, and resilient stop means -mountedhadjacentthe interior side of one ofr said `doors and adapted to be projected betweenthe otherv door vand said downwardly extending flange whenfthe doors are closed.

7.; A locker having a-bottom wall of sheet material, vadownwardly extending flange formed adjacent Athe front margin of said wall and supporting a forwardly Iextendingnsill liange at a downwardly spaced position, -a pair of oppositely swingable doors mounted on said sill and closing against said downwardly extending flange, and resilient stopmeans mounted on Athe interior side of. one. of said doorsA and adapted tovbe projected between `the other door and said downwardly extending flange when the doors are closed.

8...A locker having sheet metal'walls, a doorway formed in the locker, at least one of the walls f contiguous with the doorway having a. flange extending ina rdirection -outwardly of the doorway and terminating inl a Aflange member extending.l transversely thereof and spacedV from the. wallpa pair of oppositely swingable doors mounted in the doorwayland closing against said outwardly directed ange, a control bar mounted inA lthe interior spacedefined by the `said wall andthe outwardly extending flange, and means operatively connectingeach of said doors to said bar including control arms extending through the said iiange tocontrol the position of the doors.-

.9.'v Alocker assemblycomprising a plurality of prefabricated locker sections, each of said sections havinga pair of doors opening in opposite directions, said sections being ysecured releasably together to provide a unitary assembly, a longitudinally movable control bar extending transversely through# all of said sections, one of the doors of each pair being releasably connected to said control bar for actuation to open' and closed position, and releasable means connecting said other 4doors. to the 'control bar, said last-named ,1 releasable means comprising a spring biased to bring -said-second-named doors initially to closed position and to'resiliently -maintain them in said positionr -while :the first-named doors are being full-y closed.

l-10. A locker having a bottom wall of sheet material, a downwardly extending flange formed adjacent the' front margin of said wall and lsupporting a .forwardly extending sill flange vat a downwardly spaced position, a door hingedly l mountedwith respect to` said sill, a control bar mounted inl vthe interior space defined .by said bottom vwall and said downwardly extending flange, and means operatively connecting said bar and. said door including a control arm extending through said flange to control the position of the door, said control arm being secured to said doory at a point remote from the vhinge axis Vof lsaid door.

JAMES E. BALES. 

